1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a container for thermally insulating one or more articles to be temporarily stored or transported from one location to another, and more particularly to a container for thermally insulating one or more articles and constructed in a manner that allows easy access to the interior thereof for cleaning purposes.
2. Description of Related Art
Presently there exist containers for temporarily storing or transporting articles, such as food, that keeps the article hot or cool whilst it is being stored or transported from one place to another. These containers are typically in the form of bags or pouches having an exterior surface within which is defined an interior space where articles or contents, such as food items, are stored. Access to the interior space is via a fold down flap, the flap extending from and hingedly connected to a bottom panel of the bag. The bag is closed to secure the contents by folding the flap over the opening and tucking the flap either upon itself into the opening or under a strap on the top panel of the bag. A typical use for such bags is in the delivery of pizzas from a pizza shop to a customer's home or business address. The pizza is placed into a cardboard box, then closed, and then inserted into the above-described bag or pouch, after which the flap is folded, and then delivery is undertaken.
These types of containers are usually stitched where two panels of the container meet and define a boundary of the panels, the stitching being implemented to seal insulating material between various corresponding panels of the exterior and interior surfaces of the container.
A problem with such stitched containers is that the interior space is difficult to access for the purposes of cleaning the interior surfaces of the container. It is a fundamental requirement to be able to clean the interior surfaces for the purposes of hygiene and reducing or eliminating contamination of food products that are placed in these containers. The interior space is limited in volume and is only able to be accessed via the opening. This makes it difficult to place a hand or a cleaning implement inside the interior space as the container cannot be fully opened. Furthermore, there is the added problem of a user seeing where to clean due to the relatively dark or dull interior of the container.
The present invention provides a container whereby its interior surfaces are easily accessed to enable a user to satisfactorily clean these surfaces.